Thawing His Heart
by Luciusdreamer
Summary: The magical world has found an equilibrium between magical and human. Prince Nuada has taken to ruling his realms but holds a deep resentment for the love his sister has for Abe. Luckily there is a new member in the BPRD who could balance the scales.
1. Cherry Blossoms

I want to tell you a little about Richella, the character I created for this story, but I don't want to give everything away so I will only tell what the other BPRD members know about her. In this story Richella is a Veela. She is more like the Slavic Mythology Veela in ability and weaknesses but I also combined it with characteristics of Veela's from Harry Potter. She is a semi-human, semi- magical creature possessing the ability to make men swoon with just a smile. However when she is angry wings burst out of her back and her face turns bird-like, and she can control storms. She doesn't need to be angry to be a fierce warrior though, when she fights even in her human shape the earth shakes. She does not age past her 25th year and has been since the 1500's. She was raised by humans, but ran away after some issues at home. She was found wandering by a fairy who took her to another Veela. The older Veela taught Richella the traditions of the Veela, seduction and fighting.

Since Hellboy II:

Prince Nuada in a rare moment of compassion felt the love his sister had for Abe and gave up control of the Golden Army so that she could be with Abe. He did not give up showing the humans their place however. He revealed the magical world to the humans and reminded them their place was in the cities. Unable to fight Silverlance's army of trolls and other magical creatures the humans retreated into the cities. Population density was a problem for awhile but over the years humans have adjusted and learned to live in harmony with the magical world. There are even laws in place to allow humans to live on magical land as long as they follow the realms rules. Governments on both sides handle the residents in their realms and the BPRD monitor tensions between species. Two years ago the BPRD ran across Richella and asked her to join the crew. She has been a huge asset to the team and gets along great with everyone. Especially with Princess Nuala who has joined the team to be closer to Abe. Nuala's extra-sensory perception has helped Richella get over a lot of her past demons.

Ok now onto the story.

"We have an issue developing in New York City" Manning informed the BPRD team "It appears trolls have taken to booting people from their homes and living in the homes themselves"

"Well let's go" Hellboy said pushing his chair out from the table

"Wait Red let's listen" Liz said placing her hand on his arm

"There is a bit of a complication" Krauss began "There are LOTS of trolls settled into this area. More than we may be able to handle"

"I doubt that" Hellboy said slouching in his chair

"How many will it take to get them out of there?" Richella asked

"At least 6" Krauss replied "And that leaves us very little room for mistakes"

"Well we have 5, who do we have on reserve?" Richella asked

"A few agents" Abe said

Hellboy made a snorting sound "They haven't been very helpful in the past"

"I could help" Princess Nuala chimed in

"Nuala we can find someone else" Liz said

Nuala was helpful in negotiations but when it came to fighting she fell short

"No I really think I could be helpful" Nuala insisted

Abe had been running the numbers all week and kept coming up short. If they had one more person to handle the perimeter and be and extra set of eyes it would change everything. But there was no way he was going to put Nuala in that kind of danger.

They argued for what seemed like an hour. Nuala and Krauss insisted the extra help would be crucial but the rest of them insisted they could handle it without her. The final decision was made by Manning, she would go but only get involved if it was absolutely necessary.

Later that night:

Prince Nuada stalked on the outside of the BPRD. The place was impenetrable. He could just go ahead kill the guards like before, but his sister had begged him to try and live without killing. So as he walked around the perimeter he looked for a way in that didn't involve killing.

Something caught his eye from the third story. A curtain was blowing from an open window. He quickly jumped over the security fence and climbed the wall of the building. He landed softly on the balcony of the open window.

He caught a whiff of Japanese cherry blossoms coming from the room. The sweet smell drew him further in and sleeping on the bed beside the window was Richella. Her dark brown hair was strewn across her pillow and the sheets moved up and down slowly as she breathed.

Her lips were slightly open and the prince had a hard time keeping himself from leaning in for a taste. He stood there and watched her sleep for a long time. He was torn, he knew BPRD employed magical creatures but she looked human. He couldn't imagine the girl in front of him fighting the things he knew they faced everyday. She looked so young, weak, human….. Gorgeous.

"Brother what are you doing here!" Nuala asked through a crack in the bedroom door

The prince was quickly snapped back into the room and stumbled to answer "I need to talk to you" he finally managed

"What are you doing in Richella's room?" Nuala asked

"It was the easiest way in" Silverlance said "Without killing anyone"

"You could have asked me if you could visit" Nuala replied. She had no hope that her brother would ever do anything normally. "Get out of there"

Nuala felt a pit in her brother's stomach at the idea of leaving Richella's room, but he followed his sister out into the hallway.

"I felt your fear this morning. What is going on?" the prince asked

"I am going to help in a fight tomorrow" Nuala told her brother

"NO your NOT! You know you can't fight" Silverlance said in a condescending tone

"They need me!" Nuala said matter of factly

"You're willing to die for them" Nuada said

"Yes" Nuala said

"Well I'm not!" Nuada yelled back, but a pull in his heart told him that might not be true for long

"You're always fighting! Why can't I?" Nuala wined

"I know what I'm doing" Silverlance pointed out

"Oh yeah" Nuala said sarcastically showing him a healing wound on her wrist

"They didn't fight fair" Silverlance said back

"I can handle myself" Nuala said and started walking away

"You are SO stubborn! Fine if they need an extra that badly I will fight in your place" Nuada yelled after his sister. He knew Nuala wouldn't be able to live through a real fight, but he also wanted to stick around and get a few more whiffs of those Japanese cherry blossoms.

So living in a house full of guys finally paid off…. I saw Hellboy II today. HOLY SHIT! Prince Nuada is HOT. The timing is bad though because I am in the middle of studying for finals and I have a Harry Potter FanFiction in the works. So if you want to hear more of this story just let me know and I will try my hardest to find time to write. THANKS FOR READING!!


	2. Legend

Richella woke up the next morning from a very vivid dream. In the dream she had been standing in front of a man but there was a bright light behind him so she couldn't see his face. All she knew was that this man was her true love; the only one that would survive her affection.

She shook off the dream mumbling to herself "Stop dreaming Richella you won't find him. Millions of men in the world what are the odds you find the one" Plus she wouldn't risk it. Legend said that any man she fell for would die a horrible death except one, her true love.

She was still in a daze when she walked into the dinning room. She was surprised to see everyone already in there. No one looked particularly happy either; she wrote it off as worry over the upcoming fight and walked toward the group.

Nuala jumped out of her seat to greet Richella "There is someone I want you to meet" she said with a hug "This is my brother Prince Nuada"

Richella followed the line Nuala made with her arm to an impossibly beautiful man relaxing in a chair.

"You may call me Silverlance if you'd like" said a silvery yet dark voice through her haze.

"I'm Richella, It's nice to finally meet you Silverlance" Richella's voice broke. Her heart was already soaring from the dream, and now prince Nuada was making her heart race even faster.

After filling a plate with a few breakfast items Richella took a seat next to Nuala. "So how long are you visiting?" She asked the prince

"Till after the fight with the Trolls. I will be taking my sisters place in the field" He responded

She heard Abe harrumph and Hellboy snicker under his breath. This had obviously been discussed while she was still sleeping. She kicked herself for always sleeping in later than the others; she missed all the good arguments.

After breakfast she helped Princess Nuala gather the dishes and clean them. It was a ritual they both looked forward to. They got time alone to talk since the boys ran from the kitchen once the food was gone.

"SooOOOo what do you think of my brother?" Nuala asked with starry eyes

"You two are defiantly twins" was all Richella was willing to admit

"Yeah we have a special bond" Nuala added. She didn't talk much about her brother, mostly because it made Abe nervous so Richella knew very little about the siblings.

"Must have if he is willing to die for you" Richella said

"No he's fighting because he isn't willing to die" Nuala said grimly. Richella looked confused. "Part of our 'special' bond is that every wound one of us gets the other gets as well" she explained "He's a better fighter so he is going in my place so I don't kill us both"

"WOW! That is quite the bond. It also explains the bloody noses and cuts" Richella said

"Yeah it's something." Nuala said in a far off tone "I can feel my brother's emotions too and sometimes his thoughts… if they're strong enough"

"That must be annoying" Richella said

"It has been more annoying for him lately, with Abe and all" Nuala pointed out

"I can only imagine" Richella knew what it was like to feel like you would never find love. It must be horrible for him to feel love but not actually have it.

"I'm glad he came though I finally got to feel your Veela seduction thing" Nuala smiled "I have to admit I never thought it would be so strong… or so quick"

Nuala didn't want to tell Richella Silverlance had been in her room. But the princess had felt the pull Richella had on her brother even then. She was shocked that the effect took place even when Richella was sleeping. Nuala assumed there had to be at least a little bit of intent to make the magic work, but it appeared Richella didn't have to do anything to make men fall in love with her.

"Your brother has human blood in him?" Richella asked confused

"No…We are an ancient royal ELFISH bloodline. Since the beginning of time" Nuala said proudly

"Well then he doesn't feel the effects of my ability. It only works on humans or human cross-breeds" Richella explained

"Really!! I didn't know that. I thought it was all men" Nuala replied

"Exactly all MEN not all males" Richella laughed tightly

"Well then he must genuinely like you" Nuala smiled and nudged her friend

Richella turned red and stared out into space. The figure in the light flashed in her head and sweat began to bead on her forehead.

"Penny for your thoughts" Nuala said anxiously

Richella held out her hand; it was just easier for Nuala to read her than to explain. Plus Richella didn't see the point in keeping secrets from Nuala; she had helped her out too much in the past.

"Oh GOOD you like him too!!!" Nuala jumped up

"Please don't tell him" Richella begged

"I wouldn't dare. I would have to admit I slipped and told his feeling too" Nuala shivered at the thought of her brother's reaction if he knew she had slipped.

Nuala gave Richella a quick wink and walked out of the room.

Richella cringed thinking about what was going through Nuala's head, she hoped it had nothing to do with a relationship. Richella had been through enough when it came to relationships.

Her adoptive parents were human so she grew up far away from anything magical. She went through adolescence as the most popular girl in school; always having a date to dances and parties. When she finally met a boy that made her feel real and not just a pretty girl she spent 2 years infatuated with him and 2 years trying to justify staying in the relationship.

She ran away from her issues just after she turned 20 and ran head first into the magical realm. She was so relieved to have an answer to her troubles she forgot all about why she ran away in the first place and tried to go home when her Veela training was complete.

That was when the Legend about never finding love came full circle for Richella. The man she had spent 4 years with had taken his life after she left. From then on she forbid herself from love.

She spent centuries moving from town to town building up taller and taller walls around her heart. She spent time in the magical realm but she was so use to the overwhelming adoration of human men she simply didn't notice the attention the non-human men gave her.

She concluded she was doomed to live alone. She couldn't love humans because she couldn't love someone who was forced to love her and magical men didn't seem to like her. So she lived with the conclusion that she would never have love.

But now she had the option to have love and she could feel the walls around her heart crumbling. She was so mad that they weren't stronger. She wanted to try and live a normal life and have a crush but the Legend held her back.

If he wasn't her TRUE love he would die and worst of all Nuala would too. True he was an incredible fighter and immortal for all intensive purposes but could she risk it. Could she be so selfish?

Teepartygirl~ I have always loved the idea of Veelas and I'm have so much fun writing about her. Thanks for reviewing!!!!!


	3. Battle

Richella was still worrying as she geared up for the fight. Everyone was sorting through supplies and weapons. The clank of metal was very calming to Richella and she was soon in a good state of mind for fighting. She would have to push the feelings aside and deal with them later…..again.

They all piled into a few vehicles and headed off to the battle.

"I wish you would have stayed behind" Nuada mumbled to his sister

"I would be doing the same thing there as I will here….worrying" Nuala said back. She had insisted on coming, but agreed to stay in the van during the fight.

Prince Nuada suddenly looked very annoyed and glared at his sister.

"Would you stop thinking about Abe" he ordered through gritted teeth

Nuala rolled her eyes and shook her head. She wished he would find someone to love so he would understand she couldn't just stop thinking about Abe. Having her brother there made everything so sensitive.

Richella sat in a corner of the van meditating. She focused on her past and a few memories in particular.

_She was 5 and playing with a girl who lived across the street from her. They were braiding grass and making crowns from flowers when the girl's mother came running out of the house. _

"_Becky! Get back inside! What did I say about playing with that girl?" The mother grabbed her daughter by the arm and pulled her inside._

"_She doesn't seem like a witch mum" The girl replied………………………._

_She was 14 and eating lunch with a group of friends from her parents' social circle. As usual she found herself surrounded by 4 or 5 boys jockeying for position next to her; offering her anything from their own plates and even a rare rose being pulled from behind their back. _

"_That's it you slut!" a girl screamed from the end of the table_

"_Joanna please!" A boy next to her said_

"_No! She has to be doing something behind our back's to make you all follow her around like lost puppies. Have you slept with her too Jacob?" the girl glared at Jacob_

"Richella we're here" Liz told her out of routine.

Prince Nuada watched Richella gracefully stand up and walk slowly out of the van in a trance. She stood a little ways off from the group and stared into the distance. He took a few steps towards her to try and see what she saw but a firm hand stopped him.

"Leave her alone she has to complete the transformation" Hellboy said to Nuada

Before every fight Richella gave herself time to build up to it and only when they had arrived did she allow herself to relive the next memory.

_She was 19 years old and arguing with her adoptive parents. They had always made it clear she wasn't theirs but they never talked about her real parents. She was pleading with them again to tell her who they were. _

"_Richella, why does it matter? Don't we love you enough?" her mother cried out her usual guilt plea_

"_You do, but you can't explain this" Richella yelled and closed her eyes. _

_She felt her anger build inside her and let herself feel every twinge. She heard her mother gasp at the same time Richella's center of gravity shifted. Wings had burst from her back and her jaw felt stiff. She opened her mouth, now a beak, to speak but loud squawks came out instead. She realized she had never tried talking while in this form and apparently couldn't do it. _

Nuada almost fell backwards watching her transform. She was hideous! The beak covered her entire face leaving only enough room for two beady eyes on either side. The wings came down to her knees and were a tattered stained yellow color. She turned around and gave a quick squawk and leaped from the earth, the wind from her wings rustling the dirt below her.

"Amazing isn't it?" Abe said over his shoulder

The prince turned and glared at Abe. He wasn't going to agree with anything Abe said, not after he poisoned his sister's heart.

"Once Richella gets back with the exact number of trolls we're dealing with, we'll decide the best way to approach this" Krauss informed the team

Richella landed with barely so much as a thump moments later. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She had done the transformation so many times it only took her two breaths to turn back into her human shape.

"What is the count Agent Richella?" Krauss asked as soon as her beak was gone

"Well…..about 20, medium size….but.." Richella started to say but Krauss interrupted her

"Splendid! How are the dispersed in the area" Krauss continued

"Um….they are congregated in three different houses…But I th" Richella tried to tell them more but she was interrupted again

"Perfect. We'll split up into pairs. Finish your house off then help the others. We'll be done in no time. Agent Hellboy your with me" Krauss said

Nuada took a quick step towards Richella so he wouldn't be paired up with Abe. The rest of the team finished loading and gathering weapons.

"Stay back Nuala. I'll know if you so much as step towards the fight" Nuada warned over his shoulder

The team began to walk towards the encampment but Richella fell behind. Nuada turned to make her hurry but she had a confused look on her face.

"Something wrong?" Nuada asked

"They are so close to the border" Richella shook her head

"What? Who?" Nuada asked

"The trolls. The city limit runs directly through that neighborhood. Technically their only half wrong" Richella said with a shaking voice

Nuada was shocked to hear her be so concerned with the treaty border. He had pegged the BPRD as being pets to the humans, that they fought more against the magical realm than the human realm. But she seemed genuinely torn about pushing these trolls out.

"Then we wont fight" Nuada said happy to have an excuse not to fight against his own kind.

"Well they were wrong for forcing the humans out of their homes. They could have gone through more legal channels" Richella pointed out.

"They can still do that" Nuada said calmly.

Just then the yells of battle came from the neighborhood in question.

"If we don't fight they'll be out numbered" Richella said quickly and ran towards the yells.

The prince regretfully agreed. He felt his sister's sudden worrying and imagined what her grief would feel like if Abe died. He concluded that the love might be more bearable than her grief.

They got to the scene just in time. Krauss's suit was lying in a pile near the clearing and an unmanned car was herding trolls between two houses. Hellboy and Liz were fighting stragglers and just barely killing their present target before another over took them. Richella quickly made her way to the place Krauss was trapping the trolls. She jumped on top of the car and pulled the bow off of her back. She pulled an arrow to her cheek and released it before Nuada could blink. He ran to the side of the car to finish off the troll she had just taken down. Richella continued to shoot arrows from the roof of the car like a gladiator on a chariot.

"Go back home!" She screamed. A few took the hint and ran for the trees.

"Richella, over here!" Liz screamed a few feet from her

"No that's the border. They are in their right to be there" She emphasized the last word by marking the border with an arrow.

"Come on don't pull that shit again, these fuckers raided these homes!" Hellboy yelled back at her.

Richella didn't let up though. She was more than happy to kill a Troll that crossed the border but she was not killing them on their rightful land. It only took a few minutes for the trolls to either back up or die fighting.

"Damn it Richella they'll just come back in a month" Hellboy breathed heavily.

"Maybe but I'm going to tell the humans how close they are to the border. Hopefully I can convince them to move back a bit and keep a neutral pocket between them and the trolls" Richella stormed off to find the home owners

"She may need more looking after than you Agent Hellboy" Krauss said after he was back in his suit.

They all walked back to the van to catch their breath and appraise their wounds.

"ABE!!!" Nuala ran towards the group and caught Abe in a kiss.

Nuada nearly doubled over with the joy. He had gotten use to the worrying but the sudden change of emotions nearly made him sick. He glared at the couple and tried to be as annoyed as possible so his sister would feel his discomfort. But she didn't show any signs of letting up.

"Aren't they cute" Hellboy said with a rough pat on Nuada's back

"Irrepressibly" He said back through gritted teeth

"Where's Richella!?" Nuala asked after she had let Abe out of her grasp.

"She went to play mommy to the humans and tell them to back off" Hellboy sneered. He hated looking like the bad guy to the humans, and the more Richella threw fits like this the worse reputation the BPRD got.

"What did they do" Nuala asked.

"They were on troll land. That neighborhood is illegal we should have been fighting the humans" Nuada informed his sister.

Nuala made a concerned face and looked into the trees. She understood Richella more than anyone there. The humans had done horrible things to her as a child, and even though she tried to fit in later in life it was a world that never fully accepted her. Richella loathed the men for constantly reminding her she was different, and the women hated her for her effect on men.

"Well it seems the realtors told them the border was another mile beyond the neighborhood. I'll go talk to them tomorrow" Richella said as she rejoined the group. They all just shook their heads and reloaded the vans.

"I appreciate what you did back there" Nuada said placing his hand on Richella's shoulder

She blushed in response to his touch and smiled back. She suddenly was in a better mood than she was seconds ago and stepped into the van with a girlish skip.

"So is it wine tonight or margaritas?" Richella asked the group.

"You always ask that question and we all end up drinking our usual" Liz laughed

"Well could we at least play some decent music and not Abe's whole classical collection this time?" Richella moaned

"Vivaldi is a very good way to wind down after a specially vigorous fight" Abe pointed out.

"Yes but we have a guest now. Let's show him we can have fun as well as kick ass" Richella winked at Nuada

Nuala laughed at the idea of her brother having fun. She couldn't even remember the last time he smiled.

"Don't change your traditions because of me. I'm leaving as soon as we get back" Nuada said

"Oh NO! Please! It's tradition that was all celebrate after a successful mission. You helped so you have to join" Richella pleaded. She wasn't ready to part with the beautiful elf just yet

"It would be quite rude to leave brother" Nuala said trying to hide her amusement

She could hide the smile but not the tickle in her heart. Nuada knew his sister was up to something and he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. But Richella's pleading eyes captivated him and he agreed to stay for a few drinks.

Teepartygirl~ Me too it would kill me if he died again! LOL thanks for the review

Deadbyday~ I love your name! If you notice I update at 4 in the morning so I too and dead by day. Glad you are enjoying the story.

Shinigamiredrose~ Thanks for reviewing. Hopefully I will have more time to update more often now that school is on hold.


	4. Party

When they arrived back at head quarters Richella ran out of the van and straight to the library. First things first she took all of Abe's classical CDs out of the player and hid them behind the books. She plugged in her iPod and found her favorite playlist.

While everyone else was showering she put away and books strewn across the room and arranged the furniture to better suit a party atmosphere. She stocked the bar with Abe and Nuala's favorite wine, Liz's rum and of course as many Tecates as the fridge could handle. She added a few extra kinds of liquor since she wasn't sure what the prince drank, and then ran off to her room

She took a quick shower and threw her hair up in a towel before taking on the task of finding something to wear. She threw clothes everywhere, but after about 18 outfits she settled for a pair of jeans and a purple tank top. It showed just enough cleavage to be sexy but didn't make her look like she was trying too hard.

She let her hair down to put a handful of mousse in it. Scrunching it to get every last kink out of her usually straight hair. She found her favorite colors of make-up and when she was done she was shocked to see an hour had passed so she rushed down to the library.

She could hear everyone was already there and she took a deep breath before she walked inside.

The prince nearly choked on his drink when she walked in. The whole smell of the room changed to Japanese cherry blossoms the moment the doors opened. He suddenly was back in her room with her sleeping peacefully in front of him.

"Where is my music?" Abe asked irritated.

"Where it should be" was all Richella answered. She would let him squirm till tomorrow. No way was he going to ruin this. She had been planning this party in her head for months and with Nuada here it seemed a perfect time to hold it.

"You look stunning" Nuada said suddenly standing next to her.

"Thank you" Richella answered trying to stay on her feet despite her wobbly knees.

"Cosmo, Richella?" said an agent quickly mixing her a drink.

"Appletini" said another one pushing it in her face.

"Thanks Brian" Richella said taking the drink.

Nuada nearly laughed at how tactless the two men were with her. He knew what they were feeling but he could at least control himself enough to keep from falling all over her.

The group laughed and talked for a good while recounting the day and laughing at the look on the trolls faces when Krauss took control of the car.

Nuada watched Richella from the other side of the library. He saw how the human agents looked at her, like she was about to do the most amazing trick and they didn't want to miss it. They hung on her every word like there would be a quiz later, but he had a feeling if he actually asked them what she was saying they wouldn't know. Their eyes were sort of glazed over like they saw her, but didn't really see her at the same time.

Nuada saw her though. Her laugh reverberated in his ear drums and he yearned to make her laugh just to hear it more. Her lips moved with such expertise it was like watching a dance when she talked. Her eyes were different though. They seemed distant and withdrawn, and he stared at them trying to figure out what was missing in them. .

She looked in his direction and they locked eyes. He stopped breathing; praying she would be the first to look away but she held his gaze for a long time.

Nuala cleared her throat in Richella's ear. She could feel her brother's desire and intrigue building and when she caught them staring at each other she nearly lost it and laughed.

"Go talk to him" Nuala hissed at Richella and pushed her off the arm of the couch.

Richella glared back at Nuala as she walked over to Nuada.

"Not a socializer are you" Richella said.

"This isn't my crowd" Nuada said sipping his drink.

"Yeah, we are sort of a strange assortment" Richella laughed.

"Compared to my company, you are all as bland as humans" Nuada replied, but he regretted his words the minute he spoke them. Richella crinkled her brow and took a long sip of her drink.

"I've never had a problem with humans being bland around me" Richella finally managed.

"No... I suppose they do some pretty interesting tricks for you" Nuada winked.

Richella tried to manage a smile but it looked more like a snarl.

"I'm sorry if I offended you" Nuada recovered.

"It's not that. It's just a ….touchy subject…me and humans" Richella answered.

"Then we have something in common" Nuada held out his glass and clicked hers lightly.

"Ok Richella you wanted a party lets do this right" Hellboy said over her shoulder. He held out two shot glasses full of a golden liquid. He handed one to Richella and one to Nuada.

"I really don't think…" Nuada started.

"Nonsense, we're all taking one…or four….so we can quit being civil and loosen up a bit" Hellboy said and tipped his head back to pour the booze down his throat.

The prince looked at his sister and she just tilted her head to the side in agreement. They all took their shot and hissed in unison as the liquid burned their throats.

"Oh please its only whiskey" Hellboy said condescendingly.

Richella was happy for the quick buzz and followed Hellboy to the bar for another one.

"Let's see if prince-pretty boy can hold his liquor" Hellboy said pouring another few shots.

"Be nice, he's Nuala's brother. She might want him to come back someday" Richella said.

Hellboy just shrugged his shoulders and walked the fresh shot over to Nuada. Not wanting to lose another challenge to Hellboy, Nuada tipped the shot back and braced himself for the burn. Nuada held firm but Richella saw Nuala shutter.

"You ok?" Richella asked sitting down next to Nuala.

"Yes" Nuala said.

"You just shuttered when your brother took a shot" Richella pointed out.

"Did I?" Nuala asked.

"Is that part of your connection, if one gets drunk the other does too" Richella asked.

"I don't know. I have never been drunk with my brother around to test it" Nuala answered.

"Is it possible?" Richella asked.

"It could make sense that if his brain becomes cloudy enough mine will too" Nuala speculated.

"Abe, no more drinks for her, I have a feeling Prince Nuada will be drinking enough for the both of them" Richella said watching Hellboy bring another shot over to Nuada, this one was on fire.

After the 4th shot Liz pulled Hellboy away from the liquor. Richella scanned forward on her playlist to get to songs that better fit the accelerated night. She and Nuala danced in the middle of the room to a few songs and sang loudly when they knew the words.

Nuada watched the two women move and was torn over who was more beautiful. His sister held such a great deal of his heart he was confused to have feelings for another woman. Could he love someone else and be content? She had found someone, why not him?

The human agents inched their way to the floor, getting closer and closer to Richella. Nuada felt uneasy at the way they seemed to be pulled towards her like they had no choice. He figured technically they didn't have a choice but he was able to stay seated and content to just watch. He tried to see what the difference was between Abe, Red, and himself, all who seemed to be able to keep their distance, and the agents who now had her sandwiched between them.

He felt a flame of jealousy rise in his gut as he watched them dance with her. She wrapped her arms around their necks, then their waists, grinding and gyrating against them. He could see the human influence in her dancing style but she had a much more fluid and meaningful way of moving.

Then the song switched and she slide her way out from between then men. She smiled at them and thanked then for the dance then began to walk away. The two men followed right behind her and she again tried to shake them off. When they grabbed her wrists Nuada got to his feet. With two steps he had himself and his blade separating the two agents from Richella.

"She said she was finished!" Nuada said just above a whisper.

The two men stepped back and Nuada turned to look at Richella.

"Did they hurt you?" Nuada asked looking at her wrists for signs of bruising.

"No I'm fine, Thank you" Richella said pulling her wrist out of his hands and quickly leaving the room.

"Does that mean we can listen to Vivaldi now?" Abe whispered to Nuala.

Prince Nuada turned and glared at Abe and followed after Richella.

She was cursing very loudly down the hall. 'How could I have been so dumb? That was so irresponsible Richella!!! What a fucking MESS!!' She said slamming the door to her room behind her. There was a knock almost immediately.

"Richella, may I come in?" Nuada asked from the other side. She sighed and opened the door for him.

"You are sure you're fine?" Nuada asked again.

"Yes I'm sure. I'm just mad at myself" Richella said

"At yourself? Why?" Nuada asked

"For being so irresponsible. They can't help themselves, their only human!" Richella said almost crying.

"They could have had more control" Nuada answered. He had managed to control himself why should she blame herself for them being weak.

Richella just shook her head and sat down on her bed.

Nuada looked around her room for the first time. It looked like a hurricane had been through the room and his gut reaction was that someone had been in there and tore the place up.

"Some one has been here!" Nuada said picking up a dress from the floor.

"No I just couldn't decide what to wear earlier" Richella said embarrassed.

"And you choose that over this?" He said holding up the skimpy green dress. The comment got the reaction he was hoping for, Richella laughed and reached to pull the dress out of his hands.

He kept a good grip on the fabric and when she reached for it he pulled it back and caught her in his arms. She looked up into his eyes, half scared that he was about to slit her throat, half excited that he might have other plans. He let go of the dress and brushed a lock of hair off her forehead. He stared back into her eyes and saw the distance in them change to warmth.

The change in her eyes was all it took to trigger his need to kiss her. He lowered his lips to hers and waited for a response. When he got one it was ten times what he expected. He had felt his sister's heart when she kissed Abe, but the actual experience was overwhelming. Richella kissed with a passion that far surpassed any elfish girl he had kissed. He knew it was probably just a reaction to her Veela ability, plus he was drunk, but he was too lost in it to care.

He picked her up and walked her a few steps to her bed and laid her back. He pushed up her shirt to reveal plump breasts peaking over the top of a black bra. He kissed her navel and moved his way up her stomach till his face was nestled between her breasts. She weaved her fingers into his soft hair and moaned with every kiss he placed on her body.

He moved his way up her neck and spent some time nibbling and sucking on her neck and ear. She let her hands wander down his chest, feeling every dip and ridge in his physique. She found the waist of his pants and unfastened the clasp.

"You're sure" He whispered in her ear.

"Yes" She moaned back, his silky dark voice echoing in her head.

He stood up and took off his robe and sash. Richella sat up to press her lips against his abs and she heard him moan at her touch. She hooked her fingers into the waist of his pants and followed her hands down his thighs, past his knees and over his calves. He didn't wear anything else under the flowing pants and Richella was caught off guard when she looked up to see his erection in her face.

She took a second to catch her breath then wrapped one hand around his shaft. She placed the other hand on his hip to keep balance. She ran her tongue around the crease of his head and down the entire length of his penis. Then she wrapped her lips around him and pulled as much as she could into her mouth.

He moaned and threw his head back, gripping one of the bed posts for balance. She began twisting her hand clockwise and her mouth counter-clockwise. She stopped only to swallow his pre-cum then continued the cycle.

He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her away from him before he could ruin the moment so quickly. He held her at a distance and slowed his breathing.

"Lay back" Nuada demanded and Richella gladly followed orders.

He positioned his body over her and kissed her neck. He pulled one side of her bra back and took her nipple in his mouth. Her breath quickened, and she suddenly pulled in a quick breath. He was careful slipping inside of her, but he fit nicely.

She lifted her hips to meet his and he found himself even deeper inside of her. He quickly found a rhythm and she matched him stroke for stroke, adding a twist of her hips every now and then. They moved together until she felt the heels of her feet begin to heat up. The heat traveled up her legs and around her stomach before settling between her legs.

She cried out and arched her back to keep him inside her. She dug her fingers into his back and took a deep breath. He couldn't ride out such a powerful orgasm and he felt his elbows collapse beneath him. They laid together feeling the others heart beat slow, and finally Nuada rolled over onto his back besides her.

Richella rolled over and placed her face onto his chest. She knew the next day would be filled with concern and questions but right now she was going to ignore the worrying voice in the back of her mind.

Teepartygirl~ I'm so glad you are enjoying this!!! I am having a ball writing it.

Icy Shores~ Richella is a Veela. If you look it up on Wikipedia they give a decent overview; though I did combine features of mythical Vilas and Harry Potter Veelas. Mainly she attracts men without any effort. Must be nice right!?

Deadbyday~ Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoy this one!!


	5. Morning After

Prince Nuada woke up early. Richella was nestled under his arm and breathing softly. He remembered the first night he was in this room. He located the reason the room smelt so strongly of Cherry Blossoms, pots with plants covered in blooms were in each corner of her room. He looked down at Richella and remembered how quickly her powers had taken hold of him that night. Even without her knowing she was entrancing a man, he had fallen for her.

A pit fell in his stomach as he realized what had happened. He had been seduced. He always thought of himself as a strong man, especially when it came to women, but he had been seduced just like any other male. His nose crinkled in disgust; not at her, she couldn't help what she was, but with himself for being weak.

He rolled himself to the end of the bed, and looked back to make sure he hadn't woken her up. As he got dressed he cursed the alcohol for kicking him off his senses. He got up and walked to the door, a whiff of Cherry Blossom caught him before he could leave. He stopped and turned to look at Richella. He wasn't sure how she would handle all this but he assumed she had a routine.

Richella woke up a few hours after Nuada left. The sun had made its way to her pillow and the rays were warming her face. The sheets next to her were cold though. She quickly opened her eyes to find she was alone. She sat bolt upright and looked for any sign of Nuada. There was nothing. His clothes were gone and there was no note. Judging by the temperature of the sheets it had been that way for awhile.

She took a few seconds to gather herself. She took a few deep breaths and a few chants of "it's ok, it's ok", then the clock caught her eye. It was already 10 o'clock so Richella got dressed and headed down for a glass of water.

She could hear voices laughing as she got closer to the dinning room. She hesitated for a second wondering if he might be in there, but she was extremely thirsty so she pushed open the door.

"I was minding my own business peeing in the bathroom when this lunatic kicks in the door and Abe comes barging in and jumps on my back WHILE I'M STILL PISSING!!!!" Hellboy exclaimed.

"I told you I don't mix with alcohol very well. Besides there is a huge lump on my head from when you backed me into the shower" Abe replied.

"You jumped on my back while I was pissing! What do you expect?" Hellboy laughed.

"It's not funny Red; we all thought he had a concussion. He couldn't say his name for 20 minutes" Elizabeth scolded.

"Yeah you kept writing your name in the carpet!!!!" Hellboy laughed even harder.

Abe and Hellboy laughed about other shenanigans from the night before as Richella slipped into the room and poured herself a glass of water. She saw Nuada sitting in the corner and she could feel his eyes on her the whole time.

She could feel the fire start to blaze in her stomach. She couldn't believe he would leave her with no explanation. She had hoped there was a good excuse but there he was wearing the same clothes he was wearing last night sipping tea. She quickly took a swig of water to distract herself. She felt the cool liquid pour into her stomach and she imagined it putting out the fire that was building there. Only when she had herself considerably calm did she venture to turn and leave the room.

"You disappeared early" Nuala winked at Richella.

"Something wasn't sitting right in my stomach. Sorry I missed the fun" Richella answered and made her way to the door.

"Sounds like you made your own fun" Hellboy murmured into his glass.

"WHAT!!! YOU TOLD THEM!" Richella whipped around to face Nuada. She felt her face twitch out of shape but she quickly calmed herself to prevent shifting.

"Whoa! We didn't hear anything" Elizabeth glared at Hellboy.

"So what did happen?" Hellboy leaned over to Nuada.

"Obviously nothing of great importance! At least nothing worth sticking around for" Richella hissed and marched out of the room.

"You really don't know when to stop do you?" Elizabeth smacked Hellboy's arm.

Nuada watched her leave. He thought that sometime during the day Richella would pull him aside and have some rehearsed talk with him about how that was just a moment and things can't go any farther. But the reaction he just saw left him speechless. Everyone in the room was watching him but he caught his sister's eyes. She looked as confused as he did.

He shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room just in time to hear a door slamming down the hall.

Richella ripped the sheets off her bed and threw pillows against the walls. She had let herself give in to emotion again and again it had turned into a horrible mess.

"Of course he would leave! Who are you? He's a fucking Prince Ella what would he want with you!!!!" She screamed as she gathered the sheets from the floor.

She threw them into a basket and picked the basket up under her arm. She wanted to get them washed as soon as possible. She threw open the door again and froze. Prince Nuada was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

"I think we need to talk?" He said with a hint of question in his tone.

"No there's nothing to talk about. I get it" Richella answered and forced herself to take a few steps into the hall.

"We'll I don't" Nuada said tilting his head slightly.

"You're the one who left" Richella said hissing the last word.

"Do the men usually stay around for further humiliation?" Nuada glared at her.

"Humiliation? Who do you think was humiliated in all of this?" Richella said placing her hand on her chest.

"I wasn't going to wait around for you to throw me out" Nuada yelled.

"What gave you the idea I was going to throw you out?" Richella asked matching his volume.

"Why would you want to keep us around?" Nuada asked back.

"US? Who the fuck is 'us'?" Richella continued the questioning.

"The men you seduce" Nuada finally answered.

"I think you've misjudged me. I don't sleep with many men" Richella said offended.

Nuada was confused. Last night had come so naturally, he figured she was accustomed to bringing men back to her room. If she was as innocent as she was saying there should have been more of a fight.

"Nuada, I can't sleep with many men, it wouldn't be fair" Richella said sheepishly through the silence.

"You know it's not fair. Then why are you so upset with me?" Nuada asked.

"It's not fair for men I have power over…but you…" Richella trailed off not sure how to end her thought.

"You do have power over me" Nuada admitted.

Richella's head began to spin. He did feel something for her, and she couldn't blame her Veela blood. Her breathing became shallow and her eyes widened.

"If it's not fair how can you be upset with me?" Nuada repeated.

"You're not human." Richella answered.

"True" Nuada was happy to admit that.

"I only have an effect on human men. You're elf blood protects you from the influence" Richella explained.

Nuada's forehead crinkled as he ran her words back through his mind. He had felt the power though; he was drawn to her beyond all reason. True it wasn't as strong as the men at the party but maybe the effect was just diluted for him. But if what she said was true he would either have to admit having feelings for her, or having human blood in his veins. Neither one would be easy to admit for him.

I would like to thank my crazy roommates for inspiring the shenanigans between Hellboy and Abe. Yes someone actually got a concussion at my New Years party after jumping on another friend's back with they were pissing.

Teepartygirl~ Abe is such a fun character. If I didn't adore him with Nuala I would probably write him gay though LOL

00Milky00~Sorry this chapter too so long. The Holidays have been way busier than I hoped.

Angel Eyes CK~ Not sure where the story is going but I can't get it out of my head so I will defiantly finish it.

The One and Only Charcoal~ That would be hilarious!!! Really annoying for Nuada since she has been with Abe all these years and he been alone. Kinda makes any incestual feelings seem plausible if they connect on a sexual level too.


	6. Sorrow

Richella sat in the library reading a book and enjoying the silence. Nuada had left shortly after their confrontation in the hall. At first she was mad he had left again without an explanation but she was glad for the silence.

Things at the BPRD got back to normal fairly quickly. The same day Nuada left, there was a call to a building infested with Pixies. Richella was thankful to have something routine to do with the team.

No one had pushed the subject any further but when Nuala entered the room with two glasses and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Richella's stomach lurched. She had become very good at pushing bad memories out of her head. She coped with things through escapism. It was easier to forget than to cope directly with the feelings of rejection, besides she figured she would never see Nuada again.

"Reading anything interesting?" Nuala asked obviously trying to sound casual.

"Yes, and I would like to keep reading" Richella hinted.

"You have been sulking for two days, how about some wine?" Nuala said starting to pour the glasses.

"Please I don't want to do this" Richella pleaded.

"No, you've lived your entire life avoiding……well… your life. You now have a friend who will sit and listen to you. So talk" Nuala said pushing a glass into her friend's hand.

"I really don't have anything to say." Richella said.

But Richella wasn't one to turn down good wine, and the liquid now running down her throat was very good wine.

"Where did you get this?" Richella asked.

"Venice. I know the Nymphs who tend an orchard there. This is the only label they make without immense amounts of aphrodisiacs" Nuala laughed.

"Did you get any of the other labels too?" Richella asked snickering.

"Like you need any help on that front." Nuala pointed out.

Richella's smile fell from her face; she had stepped right into that trap. Now they were on the subject of Richella's seducing ability. Richella gulped down the rest of her wine and held out the empty glass for more. If they were going to do this she wanted to be as intoxicated as possible.

"Darling, I don't know where to start unless you tell me what's going on with you" Nuala said softly.

"I don't know where to start." Richella admitted.

"How about why you were mad the morning after the party." Nuala pushed.

"Cuz he left. I woke up alone after the best sex of my life….err…sorry that must be weird for you to hear about your brother" Richella said.

"You don't know weird till you feel every surge of emotion your brother has during sex" Nuala said shivering slightly.

"Oh…err….right" Richella fumbled with her words.

"I understand now why he has been so upset about Abe and I" Nuala tried to hide her blush behind her glass.

"I just thought it might be different." Richella admitted.

Nuala's heart was breaking seeing her friend like this. Especially since she knew her brother was feeling a lot of the same things. They both saw themselves a uniquely independent. They felt they didn't need other people to be themselves or accomplish anything. But Nuala knew both their hearts and she knew they would be happier with a companion.

"It still could be different. He's a willful man, and he thinks he has made a good life for himself…alone. But I have no doubt he'll be back" Nuala reassured her friend.

"No he can't!!" Richella said suddenly.

"Ella you have to let down the walls, it isn't healthy to live a life without love. I have tried, it's so much better…" Nuala said softly but was interrupted.

"You'll DIE!!!" Richella blurted out.

Nuala had heard some pretty lame and desperate excuses in the past but this one took the cake.

"Ella?" Nuala placed her hand on her arm.

"I'm a Veela" Richella took a deep breath and prepared herself for the explanation.

"Being a Veela is more of a curse than anything. From birth Veela's are taught to shun love, that it only leads to death and pain. Most grow up perfectly fine with living a loveless life, the ones who don't take the message to heart wind up miserable and kill themselves after…." Richella trailed off as she realized she had told the story backwards.

"After what" Nuala couldn't stand the look on her friends face.

"The legend that dooms every human man who sees me to fall in love with me also dooms me to never find true love. It says that there is one singular man who is my TRUE love but every man I fall in love with who isn't my one true love will die a horrible death. I've already murdered one man with my love, and I barely lived through it. I can't do it again." Richella began to cry for her lost lover.

"Darling I am SO so sorry" Nuala moved to put her arm around Richella.

Nuala was shocked at how much she didn't know about the Veela species. There was so much heart ache and agony involved with trying to balance a normal life. Even in the magical realm love was a scary thing.

"For most Veela by the time they're of age they've hardened their hearts, but for me I grew up with humans. I saw love all around me and it was expected of me, but by the time I found out what I was it was too late. It's a constant struggle to remind myself of the consequences of my feelings." Richella said through her tears.

"Maybe you were kept from having your heart hardened for a reason. Maybe you are meant to find your love." Nuala smiled.

"It's not worth the risk." Richella sobbed.

"Why have you not let me see this before?" Nuala asked.

"It's not your burden to bear." Richella answered.

"I want to know" Nuala said and held out her hand.

Richella shook her head but she was so far into her sorrow she couldn't fend off Nuala. She felt her hand align with hers and then she heard Nuala weep next to her.

Nuada stood next to a table in the royal archives with a large book open in front of him. His finger followed the words on the page as he read them. Richella had been telling the truth, Veela's only have an effect on human men, but he had to admit he did feel a pull towards her. Which left an even more disturbing dilemma, did he have human blood in him or did he genuinely have feelings for her.

He glanced up at a painting on the wall. It was a depiction of the day his father broke apart the golden crown. The artist had taken a few royalties with the painting since the prince had a huge grin on his face. He scoffed at the painting; he knew he was doing nothing close to smiling that day. In fact he couldn't remember the last time he had smiled before this week.

He walked back to the table and re-read the Veela legend. He flipped the page hoping to distract his mind with another legend, but a picture of a man plunging a dagger into his heart was on the next page instead. He read the caption underneath 'they will die a horrible death'. He let his eyes wander to the source of the quote and read the story of a Veela's one true love.

He became even more upset that Richella was so reckless with her affection. The legend made it clear the Veela had to fall in love with a man before it doomed him to death, but how could she even risk it?

He paced the floor fuming over the risk she had taken with him. He knew not to play with the ancient legends; time had proven them to be true, they were weaved into the very fabric of existence. He spun his weapon at his side letting the aggressive movement release some of his frustrations.

Suddenly he felt like tar had filled his chest and a stream of tears fell over his cheek. He doubled over from the grief. He knew something was terribly wrong to make Nuala feel this way. Had Abe died? Or someone else in the BPRD?

He felt a twinge of dread of his own as he realized Richella could be the one in trouble. His first reaction was to head back to the BPRD, but he caught himself. He couldn't go back there. If she fell in love with him he wouldn't be able to avoid his fate.

Another surge of emotion from his sister overtook him and he couldn't help himself. There was obviously something terribly wrong. He vowed to go help Nuala and steer clear of Richella.

Teepartygirl~ It was pretty funny when my roommate was doing it too, till we realized he might actually be hurt. But he's fine now so it's funny again LOL

The One And Only Charcoal~ Why is it that drunks want to barge in on people in the bathroom!? Thanks for the review.


	7. Plotting

Nuada stood out front of the BPRD. The emotional surge he had felt from his sister earlier had left, but he couldn't just dismiss the event. He thought about sneaking into the compound again but if his sister was in distress she would be happier if he rang the front bell.

As he approached the front gate he could see the guards shifting towards him and making calls on their headsets. He laughed at their attempt, there was no way they could stop him from getting in.

"I'm here to talk with my sister" Nuada told a guard.

The guard put a hand to his ear and made a quick comment into his wrist.

"You'll have to wait here till someone comes to get you" The guard said with a shaky voice.

Nuada glared at the man and thought about just slitting his throat to save time but he figured Nuala would be very upset to find him with a dead body, so he waited.

"Nuala, your brother is at the front gate" a guard said from the door of the library.

"Oh!?" was all Nuala could think to say. She knew he could get in here without the hassle of the guards so she wondered where the uncharacteristic courtesy was coming from.

"He wants in….should we…." The guard was hoping she wouldn't tell him to get rid of Nuada; they didn't have the man power to convey that message.

"Yes, sorry, of course I will see him" Nuala stuttered.

After the guard had left she peered over at Richella. She had passed out after the emotional uproar. Nuala didn't want her waking up alone, but she knew she wasn't going to have many opportunities to have Nuada here at the compound. She was shocked he had come back at all.

She slowly left the room and closed the door behind her.

"No one is allowed in here and if she tries to leave tell her to wait for me" Nuala told a nearby guard.

He seemed very proud to be keeping watch over Richella and Nuala had a flash of what she had just seen. There was so much her friend had overcome she was dumbfounded how well adjusted Richella was.

Nuala could see her brother pacing at the front gate. She smiled a little to see him so uncomfortable. Then it hit her. Nuada was here because he felt her weeping earlier. He must think something is dreadfully wrong. The wheels in her head started turning.

"Hello brother" Nuala said in a soft tone, hoping he would misinterpret it as sorrow.

"Something is wrong." Nuada said aggressively.

"No" Nuala said unconvincingly.

"Sister you know your heart is not a mystery to me. I felt your grief." Nuada said more tenderly.

"It's nothing of concern for you brother." Nuala sighed.

"Everything to do with you concerns me." He answered.

Nuala turned to walk onto the grass, suggesting Nuada should follow her. A few guards moved to follow them but Nuada spun his weapon once and they got the hint to stay back.

"It's just that after you left……it was so nice to have you around" Nuala was being vague on purpose. She has hatched a plan on her way down the front walk, a plan she hoped would convince Nuada to stay and give him and Richella a chance to….well whatever.

"You wept over me leaving?" Nuada asked suspiciously. That wasn't his sisters normal response to being away from him, in fact it was the exact opposite.

He could tell her body was tense, like it usually was around him, but she was trying to give the impression of being relaxed. He thought it probably would have worked for anyone other than him.

"We have been apart for the greater part of our lives. I just wondered what it would be like to have you around, more than just from time to time." Nuala pouted her lips and wrinkled her forehead.

"And I find myself asking again, you wept over me leaving?" Nuada pushed.

"STAY!!!" Nuala yelled out.

Nuada felt like he had been hit by three tons of feathers. The wind was knocked right out of him and he coughed to get the fuzzy feeling out of his lungs.

"You could work with the BPRD. Richella is doing great work to get more rights for our kind, you would work with her." Nuala ventured.

Nuada peered at his sister. He knew when she was up to something but Richella's name suddenly put the air back into his lungs. He immediately cursed the effect she had on him. He wanted to run away from here with every bit of speed his muscles could muster but he stayed firmly on the ground.

"I have an assembly in a few days, I can stay till then" Nuada said flatly.

"Oh!!!" Nuala yipped

"On one condition." Nuada continued.

"Anything brother ANYTHING" Nuala didn't have to fake her excitement, a few days was plenty of time for him and Richella to talk.

"You tell me what this is REALLY about" Nuada sneered.

"I….I don't…" Nuala swallowed.

"Yeah, I can tell you're not going to be truthful with me now but I WILL figure it out" Nuada fumed. He pushed passed his sister towards the compound.

Nuala had to keep herself from skipping behind her brother. She was so proud of her match making skills; this was going to be a snap.

Richella woke up from a deep sleep. The invasion of letting Nuala see so much of her past had worn her out. She could feel the imprint of the sofa on her cheek and the remnants of wetness in her eyes. She sighed and sat up, she was thankful the library was empty.

Now that she was awake the memories and emotions were rattling in her skull. She reached for the bottle of wine on the table but it was dry. With another deep sigh she pushed herself from the sofa and walked to the door.

When she reached for the door handle it opened by another force and Nuala was suddenly in her face.

"Hey you're awake!!" Nuala grinned.

"yyyyyess" Richella answered. She was confused and concerned about the overly wide grin on her friends face. It was so opposite from the way she was feeling it felt wrong, but Nuala just stood there smiling at Richella.

"You're creeping me out, and I want to get something to eat" Richella said and tried to push past her friend.

"NO No no….I'll get you something you relax…HERE" Nuala pushed Richella back into the room and shut the door behind her.

Richella thought she heard a lock click but she was too strung out to worry about it. She sat back down on the sofa and ran her fingers through her hair. This was going to be the worst week ever. Now that Nuala knew her past it was going to be awkward, heck she was already acting weird. Did Nuala think she was too much of a hazard to get her own food? Ugh she should have kept her in the dark.

Her skin was crawling just sitting and waiting. She tried reading a book next to the sofa, but after reading the same line 5 times she gave up. She decided to go help Nuala gather some snacks. Although when she got to the door the handle wouldn't turn. She tried a few times rattling the knob in its casing.

"What the…" Richella said softly.

Then the lock clicked and the door swung open and Nuala stumbled in with a tray of food and a bag hanging from her arm.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I brought…" Nuala started.

"The pantry?" Richella interrupted and helped Nuala steady the tray.

Nuala sat the assortment on the table and began spreading it out in front of her.

"The door was locked." Richella said calmly.

"What!?" Nuala asked in a high pitched airy tone.

"I can tell by the tone of your voice you knew about it" Richella glared.

Nuala tried to find some words. She needed Richella to stay here till her brother was settled into the room down the hall from Richella's. As she searched for a good excuse she heard a quick intake of air and a slow sobbing.

"You think I'm dangerous! Don't you?!!!" Richella screamed through the sobs.

Nuala was pushed back a few more notches, she had no clue where her words had gone but she needed some soon to calm down her friend.

"I don't tell people these things for exactly this reason! So they don't feel like they need to watch me. You know how hard it is to be normal with men throwing themselves at you. To have to keep reminding your self that they don't SEE YOU they just…..HAVE TO!!!" Richella's eyes had dried up and she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Nuala couldn't think of words but she could comfort her friend. She wrapped her arms around her friend and sat her on the couch. She smoothed her hair out and rocked her back and forth till her words came back to her.

"Ella I don't think you're dangerous" Nuala said softly.

"Then why did you lock me in here!?" Richella sobbed.

"My brother is here." Nuala sighed heavily.

Richella shot up and out of Nuala's arms so fast the separation hurt her arms.

"WHAT?!" Richella gasped

"He's just staying for a little while. To…um…see me" Nuala explained.

"Are you insane!!!? You saw what happened!! I can't let him...you…I just can't" Richella paced.

She thought Nuala had truly lost her mind. She could see how Nuala could act so nonchalant about the One True Love curse before she knew the extent of it, but not now. Nuala saw what happened to the men Richella had fallen in love with; she felt the love that had been shared and then the pain after they…died. How could she doom her brother and herself to such a fate?

Richella paced the room more, filtering out the pleas Nuala was no doubt firing off. She cursed under her breath for letting herself get swept away by Nuada's good looks. For being so angry that he had left her bed afterwards. If she had remembered herself she would have done what she always did, pretended she was unaffected and didn't care what he did. Then no one would think she cared about him and he would lose interest like all the others. Why couldn't she just remember herself? Even now….

So this has been a rough few months for me. I had my heart broken pretty badly by a guy I was never really involved with and I couldn't bring myself to even think about relationships let alone write about them. But I have been having some pretty vivid dreams lately and I need to get them out of my head some way. So I'm turning to my old therapy of writing. I apologize for keeping you guys hanging for so long and apologies in advance if I find this hurts too much to continue.


	8. First Love

"Oh my God!" Richella heard her mother say from the other room.

A man had come in the middle of the night and woken up Richella's household. Her father had answered the disturbance with her mother close on his heels. The man's tone was very serious and Richella got a knot in her stomach.

"How DARE you!" her mother yelled again followed swiftly by a loud slapping sound.

"Why don't you go in the other room dear and I'll talk to Mr. Danforth" her father said next.

Her mother stomped out of the room and Richella hid behind a door so her mother didn't catch her spying.

"She has been here all night William" Her father said forcefully.

"Jacob, she could have slipped out the window…or…" Mr. Danforth replied.

"Or what!? Witchcraft?! Is that what you're suggesting? She was a baby when her parents were burned there is no way she learned any of it. Get that into your head." Her father yelled back.

"You know she's different. You saw the way Ruben took to her, the boy was under a spell Jacob." Mr. Danforth yelled back.

"Richella has been HERE all night long" her father punctuated.

"Her name was written in the sand on the top of the cliff" Mr. Danforth said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" her father asked.

"They think he was trying to reveal who his killer was" Mr. Danforth replied.

"As he was being pushed from the cliff he had time to write the killers name in the sand! Think about it for two seconds William!" her father yelled and slammed the door.

"Father? What's happening?" Richella asked from the hall.

Her father sighed and rubbed his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not going to lie to you Richella because you're going to hear it eventually. Ruben is dead." her father said sinking down to her level.

Richella could feel something move inside her, she felt her face twitch and her father stood up quickly.

"Where were you tonight!?" her father demanded. He could have sworn he saw his daughters face shudder into another form.

"I had dinner with you after school, then you put me to bed" Richella said quickly.

Her father ran his fingers through his hair and said something that sounded like a prayer under his breath. Then pointed her to her room.

Richella couldn't sleep that night. One because she kept thinking about Ruben and two because of what her father had told Mr. Danforth about her parents.

She knew she was adopted. Her parents had always told her they loved her more than her original parents so God let them keep her, but that was all they would ever say about her original parents. However her father had said they were burned, and that was a new fact she had to process. She was only 7 but she knew what being burned meant. She had been to a few witch burnings with her family, she was even told to place a burning torch on the hay at one of the ceremonies. Her mother had been so proud of her that day.

She tried to remember her original parents. Her face wrinkled at the strain, but she had no memories of them. They must have been witches if they were burned, and maybe it was true that they didn't love her all that much. She was glad they hadn't loved her because she didn't want to learn witchcraft. The rosary was hard enough to remember let alone a bunch of spells and curses.

At some point in her thoughts she fell asleep.

A few days later her mother came home from main street with a gift for Richella.

"I bought you a new dress dear" Richella's mother said. She didn't look very happy to have bought the dress but Richella was excited.

"It's black" Richella crinkled her nose when she saw it. It was pretty but it would have looked better in a red or green Richella thought.

"Yes uh…well put it on with your Sunday shoes and meet me downstairs. Quickly" her mother added.

"Do I get to go outside!!!!" Richella asked excited. She had been cooped up in the house since Mr. Danforth came calling and she was itching to get outside.

"Yes but you need to hold my hand the whole time. Do you hear me?" her mother asked firmly.

Richella nodded her head. Once her mother left she looked for her shoes then got dressed. Her whole family was downstairs, aunts and uncles, all in black clothes. They silently left the house and walked towards the church.

Richella noticed lots of other people walking in black clothes in the same direction. None of them walked on their side of the street though. Even if their house was on the same side as the church they crossed the street.

"Where are we going?" Richella asked.

"The church" her father answered coldly.

"It's Tuesday" Richella pointed out.

Her mother stopped and bent down to meet her eye to eye.

"Remember Ruben? He fell off the cliff by the river a few days ago. He's dead Richella we're going to his funeral." Her mother said smoothly.

Richella had heard it before but in the environment it clicked. The black dress, the sadness all around, church on Tuesday, and she began to cry. Her mother hugged her close and smoothed her hair.

She felt like she was being pulled in two different directions and that she was coming apart at her chest. She could feel the rip begin right between her ribs and she held onto her mother tight so she wouldn't split in two. Her mother picked her up and began walking towards the church again.

When they got close she heard people near her whispering. She heard her mother's foot hit the first step then the second, and then she stopped.

"You're not bringing her in here" someone said.

"Phillip, don't be naïve" her father said back.

"They don't want her here, no one does" Phillip replied more firmly.

Her mother began to sob and a heavy door closed.

"Let's go home" her father mumbled.

"That's it! You're just going to let them keep her from saying good bye? He was her BEST friend!" Her mother cried.

"I'm not going to bust down the doors of a church Mary!" her father snapped back. He had walked away from them by now.

They walked home in silence. When they got home Richella went to her room and sat by the window. She saw the people leave the church and go to the cemetery. She was sort of glad she didn't go; it didn't look like fun.

Her father came into the room and set down a tray of tea.

"Are you hungry Richella?" he said in a straight tone.

She shook her head. He took a deep breath behind her and flopped on the bed. For what seemed like an hour they sat like that. Father staring at his daughter, daughter staring out the window.

"I don't know why, but I can't stay mad at you for very long. Even now with all you have done." Her father said more to himself than to her.

Richella didn't know what he meant by 'all you have done' back then but now she knew he believed she had killed Ruben. She also knew now the reason he couldn't stay mad at her was her veela influence.

The family was shunned by the town at first. They were finally pulled out of exile thanks to her mothers pies…or at least they thought it was the pies. Her mother would bake endlessly then send Richella to deliver the 'extra' pies to the neighbors. Every time Richella would visit a neighbor the man of the house would come out to accept the pie and shoo her away. Well she knew now the veela influence forced him to forgive her and subsequently the women of the house would have to follow suit. So soon enough things were back to normal.

The rip in her chest however stayed open for a lot longer. For years she would dream about playing with Ruben in a field. They would be having a great time, and then he would fall into a well or out of a tree. She would cry uncontrollably at the slightest memory of him or if she passed a place they use to play together. She visited his grave and kept it covered with flowers and pebbles, because she remembered he loved to throw rocks. She would go out to the cliff, which now had a very sturdy fence along the edge, and talk to Ruben.

She couldn't let go like the other children her age. She missed Ruben terribly, she knew now she had loved him and how big of a mistake that had been.

Whiteknight15~ Thanks for sticking with me on this!!

SesshiraRayu~ Thanks for readying!!


	9. Awkward

"I'll send him away." Nuala said finally breaking Richella out of her daze.

"No you want to spend time with your brother. I'll just…..think of something" Richella said running her fingers through her hair.

Richella walked quickly to the door and was happy to feel the handle give under her grip. She walked down the hall like a zombie and into her room. She was more than willing to lock herself in there.

Nuada watched as Richella walked down the hall towards him, then right past him. He felt a pull in his chest at the realization that she hadn't even noticed him. He walked back into the room he was given and tried to shake the insult from his body. Maybe he had offended her beyond forgiveness the last time they talked.

"UGH! Why should you care?!" Nuada yelled at himself.

He tried to run the events through his head. They met, they fought side by side, they drank to the victory, and then they hooked up. That's all it was, a hook up, nothing special. Then why did he feel like this was the first time he had met a girl? He had to do more research on his family, there had to be a scar on his perfect bloodline. Fuck!!! What a way to find out you were part human.

A few feet and two walls away Richella was laying flat on her back in her bed. She wished she has asked Nuala exactly how long her brother would be here. She could fake being sick for two or three days and stay in her room. Anything longer than that though and they would start sending doctors and the gig would be up. She could claim she wanted to visit friends and leave for a week…..except all her friends were at the BPRD.

The longer she stayed in the bed the more she wished she could just stay there for the rest of her life. There was no curse in her bed, no unwanted power, no transforming into horrific birds, she was just there.

She turned over on her side and her brain played a very nasty trick on her. She could see Nuada lying next to her and all her dreams of staying in that bed vanished, and were replaced by another dream. He had felt so right next to her and on top of her …………and inside of her.

"Damn it ELLA!" She screamed as she jumped up out of the bed.

She had to get out of this building. She had no clue where she would go, but here was not an option. She gathered up an extra pair of jeans, and a few shirts and her most comfortable panties then shoved them into a bag. She took a deep breath and walked out her door, only to find Nuala and Nuada talking in the hall. She tried to slip back into her room but they had heard the lock click.

"Sorry I was just…" Richella said shyly and hid the bag behind the door.

"Going somewhere?" Nuada asked with a tight grin. He looked as uncomfortable as she felt.

"Uh..no…..laundry" Richella lied. Her heart did a double back flip when he smiled.

"In a travel sac?" Nuada questioned.

Richella dropped the bag in her room and stomped off past the pair. She hated being called out on her lies. Nuada looked after her as Nuala pushed him into the room.

"Be nice she's a little stressed" Nuala said.

"And I'm not?" Nuada snapped back.

Nuala's face made his heart break; he hadn't meant to snap back at her. He had enough to worry about without her being upset with him too. It was annoying a hell to be upset with someone and then feel them being upset right back at you.

"Do you think it's possible that we have human blood in us?" Nuada asked his sister bluntly.

"NO!" Nuala said with an offended exhale.

"I'm not so sure" Nuala said and sat down hard on the bed.

"How so?" Nuala asked.

"Richella" Nuada sighed.

"Yes, I can feel you are drawn to her, but.. I'm not convinced it's because of a human ancestor." Nuala tried to reassure.

"Then what?....Don't answer that." Nuada corrected. He didn't want to face to other option yet.

"Why are you so afraid of genuinely having feelings for someone?" Nuala asked.

"It's just….annoying." Nuada answered.

"Well if you're so convinced I suppose we could ask the Orikal." Nuala suggested and then shivered involuntarily.

"YES!" Nuada shot out of his seat.

"I was joking." Nuala said appalled.

"It's the only way. He can tell us for sure." Nuada gripped his sister on both shoulders.

"You can go." Nuala said.

"No we have to go together. He'll be more willing to reply if you're present. He likes you" Nuada explained.

Nuala didn't like him though. The Orikal was a difficult man, and if you lost your temper or didn't follow protocol to the tea you could forget about whatever you came to him for. He did have answers to the impossible questions, and then some answers you didn't want to know. He could tell you who you will marry and in the same breath tell you how you will die. The best part was that you were only allowed to ask him one question a century. If he gave some vague bullshit answer you were doomed to ponder it's meaning for a hundred years.

"Ok we'll go but YOU'RE asking him" Nuala pushed a finger into her brother's chest.

A weight lifted from Nuada's shoulders. He was that much closer to an answer and he felt a smile break out over his face. His sister smiled awkwardly back at him as if she wasn't sure the moment was actually happening. A small knock on the door broke the discomfort.

Nuada walked swiftly to the door and opened it. He had to check his excitement when he saw Richella.

"I was hoping I could talk to Nuala…when she's done" Richella said as confidently as she could.

The man standing in front of her looked impeccable. His hair hung regally from his head and framed the bone structure of his face perfectly. He looked like he had just received a bit of fantastic news and the smile on his face suited him very well. His smell filled her nose and she had to fight the urge to close her eyes to enjoy it fully. She felt her heart start to rush and her skin getting hot.

"I'm done here let's go" Nuala said quickly breaking the moment. She snapped something at her brother too quick for Richella to catch then grabbed Richella's arm and pulled her down the hall.

"Did I interrupt something" Richella asked as she was dragged down the hall.

"No we were done" Nuala sighed absentmindedly.

Richella was shocked at how strong Nuala was. She was pulling Richella down the hall like she didn't weight a thing. Her hope was that Nuala was finally coming to her senses. She hoped she had seen her brother and her face to face and it finally sunk in. It wasn't normal to know the capacity a person had to kill another and be perfectly ok when your brother fell in the cross fire. Even worse was that Nuala stood at risk herself.

When they got to Nuala's room Richella looked down at her arm expecting to see bruises. Nuala didn't stop till she got to her closet and started throwing dresses onto her bed.

"Um so..I wanted to talk to you about…What are you doing?" Richella asked.

"I have to find something to wear to go see the Orikal." Nuala groaned.

"WHOA!! When did you decide to liberate yourself from your sanity?" Richella asked as her hopes that Nuala had come to her senses vanished.

"My brother wants to go, to ask about our bloodline." Nuala answered as she held up a white dress to herself.

"Not white, he'll think you're trying to look pure. Why do you have to go if your brother is the one with the question?" Richella asked and started pawing at the dresses too.

She had wanted to apologize to Nuala for losing it earlier, but she could tell everything was ok between them. Plus she was glad to have something normal to do, like picking out an outfit or talking about how scary the Orikal could be.

"The Orikal likes me; my brother thinks he'll get a better answer if I'm there." Nuala answered.

Richella pulled out a few dresses and shook her head at a few more. She was completely distracted by doing something with her best friend that Nuala's words didn't sink in right away.

"He's asking about your bloodline? Why?" Richella asked suddenly.

"The Orikal is the only one who can tell us for sure if our bloodline is pure." Nuala said.

"Has someone challenged its purity?" Richella asked.

"You." Nuala said calmly.

"Excuse me!" Richella said shocked.

"He's anxious that his attraction to you is because of your Veela influence." Nuala shrugged.

Richella's mouth went dry instantly and she couldn't get another breath through her lungs. Nuala had just said Nuada was attracted to her. She made her way to Nuala's bed and sat on top of the rainbow of dresses splayed out on it. The sides of her mouth lifted into a smirk and her eyes closed.

"NO!" Richella stood up quickly and yelled.

"Oh Gees! You're as bad as him! What is so wrong with just liking someone? Why does it have to be so complicated?" Nuala shook her head back at her friend.

"How can you say that? You know the consequences if I fall in love." Richella yelled.

"You deserve some love Richella, and don't try to scare me off of this. You don't know my brother like I do." Nuala argued.

"It doesn't matter how strong he is. Eric was strong but he RIPPED HIMSELF APART!!!" Richella began to hyperventilate at the thought of her last lover.

Nuala put her arms around Richella and smoothed out her hair. Nuala couldn't explain it but there was something that happened when her brother and Richella were together that made her blood settle. Like something in the universe had stopped rattling. She knew both of them had a past that would make it hard to get close to another living thing, but she was determined.

"Honestly that is the least of my worries right now. I have a date with the Orikal." Nuala said to change the subject.

"I hope he says he's human, then he will run away from me like he should" Richella answered then helped her friend find an outfit.

Aura~ Thanks so much for the input. I hope you keep reading and keep enjoying.

SesshiraRayu~ You're so cool!!! Thanks for reviewing.

WhiteKnight15~ I'm glad you liked learning about Richella. I get nervous that people don't care who the girl is, and they only want Nuada.

Dunthonwen~ Thanks for being understanding. I'm doing a lot better and the writing is helping a lot more than it hurts, and hearing from all of you helps too. THANKS! :)


	10. The Orikal

Nuala walked side by side with her brother through an impossibly large hallway. She wondered if the Orikal purposely made the trip to see him impossibly long so that people would get nervous and turn around. She assumed it happened often since she wanted to turn around herself.

They finally walked into a huge room at the end of the hall. Nuala was glad Richella had picked out a blue dress for her to wear because the room was white from ceiling to floor. She was sure the white dress would have looked yellow in here. There was a glow about the room that made you feel like you weren't real, but it was pleasantly warm. There was a man beaming at them from the other side of the room. They both quickly took a knee and waited for the man to speak to them.

"I thought I was losing my touch when I saw you coming to me. It has been eons since a member of the royal family came to me and now I get the pleasure of an audience with two" the Orikal spoke. It was obvious he was scolding them for staying away.

"I have a very important question to ask of you eminent one, if it be pleasing to you" Nuada quickly added the last part. He was out of practice addressing a person of higher rank.

"And if it's not pleasing to me?" the Orikal answered as he stepped down from his pedestal.

Nuada froze and felt his heart drop into his stomach. He hadn't exactly considered the fact that he might not get an answer. Half of him wanted to beg and the other half wanted to beat it out of the Orikal, but he knew both were guaranteed to get him nothing. He desperately looked at his sister hoping she would say something to put the Orikal back into a good mood.

"Just ask! You have not been to see me in more than a century. It is suitable to ask." The Orikal said annoyed.

"I wish to know that my bloodline is pure." Nuada said.

"That's not a question!" the Orikal snapped.

"Is there any human blood in my veins?" Nuada quickly asked and fell to his knees hoping the added gesture would please the now pissed Orikal.

There was a long silence. All Nuada could hear were the footsteps of the Orikal pacing the floor. He wished with everything he had that he hadn't mess this up. It was hard for him to keep his cool, he hated being so vulnerable to another's will. A year passed in Nuada's mind before the Orikal spoke again.

"So the prince wishes to know if his blood is fit for the throne, what does the princess want?" the Orikal asked. He had come much closer to them as Nuada waited for an answer.

"I'm here in support of my brother." Nuala said and bowed her head.

"To hear the answer I could credit you for the same question, but I will not" the Orikal smiled and reached for Nuala's hand.

"Thank you" Nuala said in her most unassuming voice.

"You have nothing to ask of me then?" the Orikal asked Nuala.

"With all due reverence, I have not." Nuala answered.

"Then I must go about answering your brother's inquiry. Though I had hoped to find an excuse to keep him on the floor for longer." The Orikal replied.

Then the Orikal suddenly took a blade out from under his robe and made a quick movement past Nuada. Nuada instinctively reached for his weapon but then realized he was forced to leave it at the front gate. He felt the pain of a cut on his forearm and looked up from his stance on the ground. There was a wide gash in his arm and it was bleeding very quickly.

"What color do you see?" the Orikal asked.

"Gold" Nuada answered. He wanted to reach for the knife laced around his thigh but he had to let the Orikal play his games.

"Your blood is pure; there is no human in your past. I tell you, if there were, it would not be the frailty you think it would be. I see the royal bloodline is at the end of its purity, and about to enter an era of great power. For as it mixes with its people so will the people feel like one again." The Orikal said in a flat monotone voice.

"Thank you your greatness, you have eased my soul." Nuada answered again from his knees.

"This was not the proper question to ask however. You should have waited till you had a more pressing question, for there is one coming quickly upon you. I will take pity on you nevertheless because this next move is imperative to the future of our kind, and you. Will you hear me?" the Orikal turned very serious.

"Of course your prominence." Nuada answered.

"Nuala, listen too for I feel he will have to be reminded of my words." the Orikal continued.

"You know him well." Nuala smiled and nodded.

"Prince Nuada, sometimes fear is what keeps us from our greatest accomplishments, and those accomplishments can be what we fear the most." The Orikal said regally.

Nuada wasn't sure what the Orikal was getting at. He understood his first answer perfectly. The end of the bloodline was with Nuala, since Nuada was sure he wouldn't be having children, and Nuala would no doubt be mixing her blood with Abe's so that was the mixing with the people. He was relieved however to hear her children would be strong. This latest advice took on a different tone. Nuada didn't fear anything, and he certainly wouldn't fear anything he considered an accomplishment.

"I wish to speak with your sister alone now." the Orikal said dismissing Nuada with a wave of his hand.

Nuala watched her brother leave and ran the etiquette of being with the Orikal through her head again. She had to be sure she didn't ask any questions. The answers her brother had gotten had brought up a million more in her head. Would she and Abe have children? Could they take the thrown? Were her people on the right track? But she wasn't going to ask any now she had to think about them on her own first.

She got nervous when the Orikal didn't answer for awhile. He had walked over to the other side of the room to sit in his chair. He bent forward and folded his hands under his chin.

"You know what I mean about what your brother fears the most?" the Orikal asked.

"No" Nuala made sure it sounded like a statement and not a question.

"He has a want in him that you have given him. He feels what you feel with Abe and he desires to have that connection himself. I was shocked to see it in him too, but it is there" the Orikal said responding to the shock on Nuala's face when he told her.

"He fears it too. As he should, love is menacing, but I have seen him in love. It is the question that should have been asked. I will let him ask me when he wants to know if he has found his love, even though it will happen within the century, within the year if I have not lost all ability." The Orikal stopped seeing he was going too quickly for Nuala.

She tried to think of a way to phrase her question in a way that was not a question, but the questions were circling in her head too fast to form any sort of sentence.

"He has met a girl, a Veela." Nuala said.

"You always did have good manors and you are clever to not ask a question, but I will not give an answer. You have heard what I said here and you have good instincts. I know this girl and have seen her future, she is where she should be" the Orikal replied.

Nuala waited for anything more, hoping he would give her a few more words of guidance. He didn't and she heard the door behind her open so she bowed as low as she could. She turned to leave.

"I might like to see this Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense someday" the Orikal said after her.

"You are welcome there" Nuala turned and bowed one more time.

As she walked down the hall she tried to imagine the Orikal at the BPRD. She tried to imagine him anywhere that wasn't white and glowing, and failed. All she could imagine was the cluster fuck that would be if Red ever met the Orikal.

I promise there are some "fun" chapters on the way, just stick with me. It'll get hot again at the BPRD.

SesshiraRayu~ Thanks for another review I hope you enjoy!

whiteKnight15~ Having reviews is the highlight of my day!

PetiteDiable~ Here's another chapter I hope you will love! Thanks for the review.


	11. What To Do

"What did he say?" Nuada asked impatiently.

"I don't think you want to know." Nuala replied as she sat on a nearby chair to regain her composure.

Nuada just gave her a worried look. He lifted her arm to make sure she was healing from the gash the Orikal had given him.

"He could have just answered the question. Why must he provoke me?" Nuada asked.

Nuala just smiled at her brother. She knew how much fun it could be to see him squirm.

The ride back to the BPRD was completely quiet; the Orikal had that effect on people. His words tended to reverberate in your head a lot longer than a sentence should. Nuala wasn't sure how much she should tell Nuada, she was fairly certain he would run for the hills if he thought Richella was cemented in his future. She could also feel how stressed he was, which was furthered her assumption that she should keep quiet.

"So I guess I have to face the fact…"Nuada finally broke the silence.

"Of?" Nuala asked back stunned to hear his voice.

"I'm not a bit human, so my affections are…" Nuada trailed off.

"Oh don't say it like it's a death sentence. Would you have really rather he said you were human?" Nuala already knew the answer.

Nuada didn't have to answer, the shiver he responded with ran through both of them.

…

Nuala busied herself back at headquarters with setting up a room for her brother. He was currently sulking in her room. She could feel his nerves and she felt bad for him but she was really hoping he would snap out of it soon. He was only here for a few days and she needed to get him and Richella on the same page.

Meanwhile Nuada was thinking about how to get the hell out of the BPRD. He was seriously considering starting a war just to be called away. This veela was dangerous.

"If she falls in love…."Nuada said out loud then stopped in his tracks.

His stomach lurched like he had eaten the wrong wild berry, but no it wasn't a bad lurch. It must have been Nuala with Abe, but it was much stronger than normal. He took a deep breath, made sure everything was in order and continued trying to find a way out of sibling bonding time.

"Your room is all set." Nuala smiled

"I'm sorry sister but I must go away on some business." Nuada lied.

"Really!" Nuala said trying to look shocked.

She laughed inside that her brother still thought he could lie to her. She knew he was plotting a way to get out. She was not about to let him off so easily.

"Yes it's very urgent." Nuada made a move to the door.

"How did you get the message? The headquarters are hard to get a magical message into." Nuala decided to take the Orikal's lead and watch her brother squirm.

"Nuala don't question me. I know this means a lot to you but I will be back as soon as possible. You know you could visit me at court." Nuada tried to turn some quilt on her.

"Oh don't be ignorant! I know you lying any trying to weasel your way out of hanging around. I went with you to the Orikal you are staying here." Nuala stared straight into her brothers eyes.

"Nuala! I can't! That veela is…..dangerous!" Nuada pleaded.

"To whom? Your acting like a scared little girl." Nuala responded.

"If she falls in love with me we are BOTH dead." Nuada yelled back.

"Do you hear yourself? What makes you think she even gives a pixie ass for you?" Nuala replied.

The comment hit its target. She felt Nuada nearly double over in astonishment. The taught that Richella wasn't fretting over him the way he was fretting over her made him sick, and she could feel it. She felt kinda back for throwing the blow but only a little.

She could feel his competitive side flare up and she knew she had him. He wouldn't let Richella off so easily. If he was stressed over her affections she would feel the same way.

"Can I show you your room then?" Nuala asked innocently.

Ok so no promises but I have felt bad that I left this hanging. After graduation I kinda got lost in the real world but I hope visiting Nuada will help relieve some stress.


	12. Hope

Nuada was getting nervous. He figured his room would be a few doors down from Nuala's but they had past quite a few doors now. When he caught a whiff of cherry blossoms he knew he had been taken advantage of.

"Nuala. Where is my room?" Nuada said in a deep tone.

"We're here!" Nuala said in a spirited voice.

"I can NOT have a room near that." He spat at her as he pointed to Richella's room.

"It's the only one available you will have to make due." Nuala sighed innocently as she opened the door.

Richella stood with her hand on the handle of her door. She had decided she would stock pile some food so she could stay in her room longer when she heard Nuada's voice on the other side of her door.

He couldn't have a room near "that"? What had that meant? It meant he had human blood in his veins and she had turned into a monster in his mind. She took a deep breath to keep the hot tears off her face. Then she cursed herself. She hadn't messed up this bad in a long time. She realized she was dumb to assume that just because he was elfish he didn't have some human blood in him. Lots did. It was a result of the time when humans and elves weren't enemies.

She sat back down on her bed. She went over the events in her head again and pin pointed her exact mistake. Hope. It had always been the thing to trip her up. She would meet a guy and think he was different in one way or another then she would have a moment of clarity and have to leave. She began to weep at the thought of having to leave BPRD.

"Well it's your fault, so suck it up and pack." Richella recited her usual pep talk.

"Please don't." Came a response from her doorway.

Richella looked up to see Nuada standing in the open door frame. She felt herself swoon and a rush of air leave her lungs. Hope….tThen the clarity.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Richella snapped at him.

"I'm staying here for a few days." He explained.

"No I mean in my room!" She pushed herself off the bed to gain her full height.

"It was open." Nuada lied.

Richella glared back at him. It was possible she had nudged the door open in her quick retreat moments ago. Whatever the reason she had to get him out.

"Well leave." Richella said plainly.

"Are you going to pack?" Nuada asked innocently.

"Does it matter?" Richella said irritated that he wasn't listening.

"Yes. If I have to be here, you do too." Nuada said flatly.

"What's the reasoning behind that?" Richella asked, then immediately regretted the challenge.

She was trying to get him to leave and he had just taken a step further into her room. He was amazing to look at she admitted, strong, graceful, yet did she see a bead of sweat on his forehead. She shook the thought from her head and looked past him to the wall behind him.

"Please don't answer that. Just go." Richella interrupted before he could say anything.

"If you are leaving because of me I assure you I will go in your stead." Nuada said with a slight bow.

Richella couldn't do this much longer he was too good at this game. Her game was running and she had nowhere to go. Then the thought hit her that he was voluntarily in her room, not running for cover. He had sounded like he despised her when he was in the hall, yet here he was. She needed to stop thinking he was now milling around her room running an elegant finger over her cherry blossom plants.

Her brain flashed to him running that finger over her body brushing her clit and forcing an orgasm from her very depths.

"Ella?" Nuada asked. She obviously hadn't heard his last question.

"Don't you DARE call me that!" Ella screamed as she snapped back to reality.

Even as she said it she admitted hearing her name on his lips was intoxicating. She felt her heart quicken and then drop when she saw how hurt he was at her outburst. No, she had to leave. She quickly let the twitch overtake her and she took one leap to the window and a second to launch herself out of it.

As she beat her wings she thought she heard the faint whisper of "beautiful" from behind her.


	13. Alarms

"What the hell did you say to her!" Nuala was shocked to hear Richella had left.

She knew Richella wasn't too keen to be in bird form unless she needed to be, so for her to change to get away from her brother meant things were worse than Nuala thought.

"You told me to face my fears. I did, and they flew away." Nuada said as he sat down.

"The fear the Orikal meant wasn't Richella, its love Silverlance." Nuala was tired of explaining.

Nuala sat down on the bed to try to work out what to do next. She was glad her brother had heard her when she explained the Orikal's words. He would never openly admit he was afraid of love but by the way he rushed out of his room to see Richella was enough for Nuala to know he had heard her. Now she saw she needed to do some work on Richella.

As she was thinking about what to do next the alarms went off in the building. Nuala and her brother ran out into the hall and saw agents rushing towards the board room. They joined in the rush down the halls.

"What's going on?" Nuada asked an agent as he passed by,

"Richella landed on the back lawn and said to sound the alarms. She's meeting us all in the big board room." The agent panted back.

Nuada's chest got tight and he had to slow his pace to get his breath back. Richella needed the alarms sounded? A thousand scenarios rushed through his head. One thought being of a hunter pointing his gun at a very strange bird in the sky. That thought made him regain his speed. He made it to the boardroom just as Richella did. She looked upset but physically unhurt.

"Are you ok?" Nuada asked on impulse.

"Yeah. You're going to want to be here for this. I may need you." Richella answered then made her way into the board room.

The room was packed. The head agents were standing around a long table in the center of the room, with other agents, mostly human, packed in behind them. Maps and various pictures made up the pattern of the table. Richelle slipped in between Krauss and Liz. Nuada found his sister a little ways off and stood by her.

"There is a group of mermaids and selkies who have attacked a fishing vessel just off the coastline." Richella explained pointing to a location on the map. "I didn't stick around to get details."

"Numbers?" Krauss asked harshly.

"Enough. They will have that entire crew at the bottom of the ocean without much effort. If it's escalating as fast as it was when I left we need to get as many agents as we can out there NOW." Richella explained.

"Agent Carlos…" Krauss began to give orders.

"No humans." Richella interrupted. "They will be useless within 100 yard of those mermaids."

"And your plan is?" Krauss sneered.

"I'll go in with Abe and try to talk to them. Figure out what the actual issue is, then we will report back to you on the speeder." Richella explained and pointed to a picture of the boat the BPRD used for high speed chases at sea.

"Very well. To the dock and we will meet agent Richella and agent Abe at the scene." Krauss conceded.

Nuada could feel Nuala's worry build as the plan was hatched. No, he was worried too. He cursed the Orikal for releasing these emotions in him. He could have easily blamed Nuala for the worry before the Orikal had challenged him to face his fears. Now he had to admit he was worried for Richella. Mermaids could be vicious and devious. Selkies were usually even tempered but if they were in the fight there was a damn good reason for it.

"I need you to go with Krauss and the others." Nuada heard Richella say.

He was surprised to see she had said it to him and not his sister.

"Yes they will listen to their king." Nuada answered absentmindedly.

"No. I need someone on my side. I think this may be more a human violation. Selkies don't fight for nothing." Richella's eyes were filled with worry.

"Of course." Nuada turned to follow the others to the boat.

Richella was relieved he hadn't asked questions. The bureau was so use to keeping the fae in check they forgot humans now had rules to follow too. She needed Nuada to throw a fit along with her to keep them from pushing the mermaids and selkies away without hearing their side of the story. She hoped with her getting there first she could work on finding out their story too.

The minute she stepped onto the lawn she flipped shapes and made her way to the ship under attack.

She had been right; the attack was well underway by now. It didn't look like an attack however. It looked like a love feast. The sailors were all leaning over the edges of the ship helping Selkies onto the deck. A few seal pelts lay on the deck of the ship and the women that stepped out of them found a sailor to distract. The other sailors were listening to the mermaids sing to them as a fellow crewman dropped over the edge of the ship occasionally.

Richella winced as she saw the same blank smiles human men constantly gave her. She found a life boat filled with sailors rowing to meet the mermaids. As she swooped in the men jumped over the edge in horror.

"Veela's! We hadn't even thought to ask you for help." A blond mermaid purred at Richella.

"Stop the attack and I can help more." Richella explained as she shifted shapes.

"I can't do that." The blonde glared back at her.

"Then find the mer who can and bring her here." Richella shot back.

The blond flipped a fin annoyed and went off to find their leader. Richella could hear the hum of the BPRD's boat coming in. They were still a ways off but she needed more time.

"Abe?" Richella called out.

"Yes?" Abe came up from the water.

"Hold Krauss off a little longer. Tell him I'm apprehending the leader or something." Richella pleaded.

Abe went back under. He would do it. He understood her sympathies towards the fae, plus he may be married to their queen one day so he walked a fine line.

"I'd like to see you apprehend me." said a red headed mermaid.

"Call off the attack and talk to me. I know you hear the BPRD coming. I can talk to them if you talk to me." Richella explained quickly.

"I know who you are. You're that veela raised by humans, turned BPRD whore." The red head spat back.

"I'm going to pretend you're not a bitch because I need to know why you're attacking these humans." Richella responded.

"Humans? Murderers more like." The red head snapped.

"That's a start. Tell me why you think they are murderers and I can have an excuse to bring them in instead of you." Richella begged.

"BPRD bringing humans in? I don't think we're talking about the same police state." The leader said.

"No we are. I promise I'm just trying to make this process fair. Please!" Richella begged.

The leader glared back at her. Luckily she decided to trust Richella. She didn't call off the attack but she explained that the humans had over fished their allotted areas. They had then moved into mermaid area and were catching mermaids and selkies in their nets. Not to mention depleting the food sources.

Richella felt the tingle come up her back as she listened to the story. When she had heard enough she let the anger over take her and pushed off into the air. She flew straight to the ship and picked the captain up in her talons. The mermaids cheered and the sailors were temporarily torn away from the seduction happening below. The captain was screaming underneath her but all she could hear were the cries of mermaids killed in fishing nets. She squeezed her talons tighter around the captain.

The BPRD boat was 2 wing flaps away and she dropped the captain on the deck flowed by her own human form.

"This is the reason for the attack." Richella yelled pointing a newly changed finger at the man.

The captain looked dazed, but was quickly changing his open mouth into a smile as he fell under the veela magic.

"What's the meaning of this?" Krauss asked.

"The fishermen have over stepped their boarder. They are fishing in mermaid territory and murdering mermaids in their nets!" Richella explained.

"Murder? No they have come to welcome us to their waters." The captain smiled back at her.

Richella glared at the man. She would love to throw him back to the mermaids.

"We have no proof of those claims agent Richella. The mermaids are in fact attacking this ship in human waters. We must respond to that." Krauss replied motioning to the men to race into the fight.

"Don't you dare move." Richella hissed at the men who had responded to Krauss' order.

"Agent Richella you are not in charge here. She's getting to be as bad as agent Hellboy." Krauss warned.

"This agency consistently ignores the fae's issues. I will not let you do it now." Richella hissed back.

"What can you do?" Krauss laughed back.

"Well she's got an army of mermaids and selkies right over there." Nuada stepped forward.

Richella breathed a sigh of relief to see Nuada step in. He looked even more handsome to her in her hour of need. He stepped next to her and she felt ten feet taller. She smiled at him then turned back to face the rest of the agents.

"I have been begging you to be more democratic about the issues we resolve since the day I got here. Now we all know I have no special love for humans and neither does Nuada but that is not what this is about. This is about realizing there are rules the humans have to be held accountable to. Only then can we truly live in harmony." Richella mustered all her strength.

Nuada could only stare. She was sticking up for his people, and it was hot. He had always used might and fighting power to counter the humans, but he could see what she was saying was sinking in better than the threat of a mermaid uprising. Krauss had turned to talk to Hellboy and the other agents. Richella stood tall next to him and he had to fight the urge to step closer and let his arm brush hers.

"We can start an investigation but the attack needs to stop." Krauss finally turned and told them.

Richella immediately stepped to the edge of the boat and shifted.


	14. Mermaids

Richella landed on the deck of the fishing ship.

"I know your grievances against these men, and believe me I think you are in the right here. But you can't kill every human who has wronged you." Richella began.

"Watch us!" someone yelled back at her.

"What will you do when they travel with guns? You will have the navy on top of you if you keep this up." Richella warned.

"Oh that sounds fun!" a selkie laughed behind her.

"Your king and I have convinced the BPRD to investigate these men, but you must stop the attack so they can question them." Richella informed them.

"Nuada's here!" the same selkie skipped behind her.

It wasn't the reaction she expected, and she felt a pinch of jealously in her throat. The mermaid leader flipped in the water below the ship and Richella could see the mermaids moving towards her to talk. Mermaids were vicious but not stupid. Richella hoped she had said enough to convince them.

As the mermaids talked she watched the sailors come out of their trance. The glaze fell out of their eyes and the fear set in. She envied the mermaids for that, they only seduced men they wanted to. Her seduction was completely involuntary and more annoying than useful.

"We will talk." The leader yelled from the waters below.

"Call to the boat out there to come and tie off on the starboard side." Richella told a nearby sailor.

He smiled dumbly and raced to the communication board. Three other sailors followed behind, and Richella sighed. Must she constantly be reminded what she was.

"You don't seem to enjoy this as much as the mermaids." The selkie behind her smiled as she slipped her seal pelt back on.

"Mine is more curse than it is ability." Was all Richella could manage.

The BPRD's boat hummed closer to the ship and tied off on a loop next to a ladder. As the agents made their way onto the boat Richella ran the arguments through her head to be sure she had her case straight.

"Well now I understand why Nuada is working with the BPRD." The mermaid leader purred behind her.

The mermaids had coaxed some sailors to lower ropes and pull them on board. They would be uncomfortable but they wanted to be present for this.

"He is helping out while he visits his sister." Richella said.

"Oh right…it has nothing to do with the fact that his aura is an exact match to yours." The leader rolled her eyes.

Richella froze. She was beginning to remember why she hated mermaids so much. They always assumed veela's were their long lost sisters, and it never failed that they would say something that was out of order.

"If you want me to continue being on your side you should watch your words. Nuada and I are NOT together." Richella warned.

"Didn't say you were together, but if he's single…." The leader batted her eyes in Nuada's direction.

"Can we just focus?" Richella sighed. "What is your name anyway?"

"Vanessa and this is my second in command Tessa." Vanessa answered with exquisite poise.

"So you do not take claim on that man?" Tessa asked pointing at Nuada.

"NO!" Richella exclaimed.

"But your auras are familiars" she continued.

Richella just glared at her horrified. The last thing she needed was some mermaids telling her that Nuada and her auras matched. She closed her eyes and tried to think of how to get this process back on track.

"Well if he's single" Tessa fluffed up her hair.

"I'd give up my pelt for him" a nearby selkie joined in.

"You're so lucky. He probably can't breathe under water" Tessa frowned.

Richella listened as they jockeyed for position. She could feel her blood turn under her skin and she had to stop the bird from taking over. Their conversation turned raunchy and Richella had to walk away to keep from losing her cool.

"Warriors have great stamina." Vanessa pointed out.

"Plus he's got royal blood and you know what good blood means…" the Selkie said and motioned that she meant he must be well endowed.

"Ok that's enough! We need to talk about what happened here" Richella broke in.

The mermaids and selkies stopped and smiled back at Richella. She took a deep breath and began gathering details. It was hard to stay mad at them for long. What they had been through at the hands of these fishermen was terrible. When she had gathered enough information she went over to see how things were going on the other side of the ship.

"They have killed 3 of my men" The captain said.

"Do you have proof?" Richella asked as she joined them.

"Well that's what they do right? They seduce men and kill them." the captain said.

Richella lunged at the guy. Red and Liz had to hold her back. She could feel her skin shift towards feathers but she couldn't change so close to her friends so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Tell us exactly what happened." Krauss said.

"They just walked off the side of the ship and the minute they hit the water they were dragged under by those sirens." the captain replied.

"They forget that human men can't breathe under water" Richella explained in a standoffish tone.

Krauss gave her a warning gesture so she took a step back. She could see it was going to be a struggle to listen to this guy. And she was right. He felt entitled to the fish in the mermaid's territory. He gave a pity story about feeding his own children and not being able to meet quotas in the old waterways. He tried to claim the mermaids had invited them in, and in the same breath accused them of fishing in his waters. Richella could feel every lie in her bones, she had to walk away every time he turned and smiled at her. She prayed Krauss was actually listening to him and catching the mismatched facts he was spewing as truth.

"It was a huge mistake to have me here." Nuada said catching her during a time she stepped away.

"Why is that?" Richella asked.

"I've hatched about 100 plans to kill these men since stepping on board." Nuada admitted.

"You're a bit behind then." Richella answered.

But then Krauss signaled for her to come over.

"I'm not sure how much reason they will listen too." Hellboy was saying as she walked over.

"Well they must. Rules are rules and breaking them is unacceptable." Krauss answered.

Richella felt the worry build in her belly she was hoping they weren't talking about the mermaids.

"Agent Richella I am sorry I was not looking at reason." Krauss said as Richella joined the circle.

"OH!" was all Richella could answer.

"These men shall be taken in and a further investigation will commence immediately." Krauss informed her. "Could you please try and convince the mermaids to file a report with us before they attack another ship?"

"Yes…." Richella was dumb struck.

She had been fighting to have a fair investigation for so many different fae groups that the realization that this had worked was shocking. It had to of been Nuada's presence. He carried more of a threat with him than she ever could.

As she approached the mermaids she could see them chatting with Nuada. Her stomach lurched and her face twisted quickly. She turned so that they wouldn't see, and composed herself. Good lord what is wrong with me? She thought. Richella knew she was getting dangerously close to having feelings for Nuada. The minute she got back to the bureau she had to think of a way to avoid him.

"The fishermen are being turned in." Richella began. "But you MUST let me know if there is another issue BEFORE you attack. Understood?"

"They are taking the humans? Where.?" Vanessa asked.

"Jail, and there will be an investigation into other fishing vessels. If you see one in your waters there is a number on the side of all boats to identify them, get that and turn it into me." Richella explained.

"Why did you help us?" Tessa asked with a suspicious twinkle in her eye.

"Because….I know it's not always fae that cause the problems." Richella answered confused by the question.

The remaining mermaids just giggled and jumped over the side of the ship. The selkies finished putting on their seal pelts and followed close behind.

"You're welcome." Richella murmured after them.

"Don't expect thanks from mermaids." Nuada laughed. "You were great though, I will say thank you for them."

He flashed her the most amazing smile, and her breath caught in her throat. As he walked away she had a flashback to the last victory they had shared. She needed to be more vigilant this time.

Nuada also set his resolve. He needed to get to know Richella, any woman who cared about his people that much needed to be kept close. Very close.


End file.
